Prince of Wolves
by GreatReadsGR
Summary: Jacque Pierce was just an ordinary 17-year-old girl getting ready to start her senior year in high school in Coldspring, Texas. When a mysterious foreign exchange student from Romania moves in across the street, Jacque and her two best friends, Sally and Jen, don't realize the last two weeks of their summer are going to get a lot more interesting.
1. Chapter 1

A/N This is the first chapter of many. I'm not good at writing these parts so bear that in mind. This stories isnt really related to the book I tagged it with, but it gives a massive shove in the way the story is going to go. Please read and review, I love hearing your comments and ideas. Anyway on with the first chapter.

Chapter 1

Jacque Pierce sat in the window seat in her bedroom, watching her neighbors' house across the street. I'm not really being nosy, she thought to herself. Just curious.

"Yeah," she snorted. Only if you call curious having your eyes glued to your neighbors' house like a hound on the hunt. Oh, well. I can call a spade 'a spade' tomorrow morning, she told her conscience.

The Henrys were having a foreign exchange student stay with them this year. They didn't have any children of their own and Jacque didn't know if that was by choice or because they weren't able to have children. Either way, Jacque was here to get the nitty-gritty on the situation and report to her best friends afterward.

So here she sat, scoping out the neighbors house with her lights turned off and blinds cracked just enough to see. To top off her James Bond experience, she even had binoculars! Now if she only had the nifty background music to go along her shenanigans.

She'd been sitting in her window for an hour and was just about to give up when a black stretch limo pulled to the curb. Now isn't this strange? she thought. A foreign exchange student arriving in a limo? She put the binoculars to her face and adjusted them to get a better look, settling them over the passenger door to see who would emerge. She knew this was a little much, but honestly, in a town of 700 there just wasn't a whole lot of excitement and Jacque would take it where she could get it.

The driver got out of the limo to open the back door, but it was already opening, and the boy who stepped out of that limo had to be the most beautiful guy she'd ever seen. And that was only his profile. Wow, I mean wow, was all Jacque could think. Jacque couldn't even imagine what his entire face must have looked like. He was tall, probably six foot one or so, and his hair was jet black. It was longer on top and she could tell that he had bangs that fell across his face. They swept to the left, partially covering that eye. He had broad shoulders and, from what she could see of his profile, high cheek bones, a straight nose, and full lips. She realized her mouth had dropped open and she was all but drooling over this guy. She shut it and watched as he and his driver conversed. It all seemed very formal until the driver hugged the boy with obvious deep affection. He must be more than just his driver, Jacque thought.

Suddenly, the boy turned as if he had heard what she was thinking and looked straight at her window, straight at her. Jacque froze, unable to look away from the mesmerizing blue eyes that held her. All her thoughts seemed to fade into the distance and she thought she heard the words: "At last, my Jacquelyn."

Jacque shook her head, trying to clear the haze that had filled it. After she came to her senses from the intense stare, she recapped in her mind what his face had looked like. She was right about the cheekbones, nose, and lips. What she wasn't prepared for was that his crystal blue eyes now seemed to glow in the moon light; the hair that fell across his forehead and over his eye only added to his mysteriousness. Overall he had a very masculine, very beautiful face.

The shirt he was wearing was black and, thanks to her handy dandy binoculars, she was able to see that it fit tightly and showed off a muscular chest and flat stomach. He had a black leather biker jacket on, but past that she couldn't see because the car was in the way. She imagined his legs were every bit as nice as the rest of him.

When she looked back at the street, the mysterious guy was walking into the Henrys' house. As she saw the door close she heard the voice again.

"Soon."

Jacque sat there for a few minutes, trying to get her brain to work again. Everything seemed so hazy. After blinking what felt like a thousand times, she pulled herself together, picked up the phone, and dialed Jen's number.

Three rings later Jen answered. "What's the word?"

Jacque took a slow breath and said "I think you better come over."

"I'm there, chick. See ya in 5," Jen answered and hung up.

Jacque grinned to herself. It was great to have a friend you could always depend on to be there when you needed her.

Jacque picked up the phone again and called Sally, who answered after only one ring. She had obviously been diligently manning the phone, waiting for Jacque to call with details on the latest small town drama.

"Jen is on her way over," Jacque said. "I need you to come too. We need to talk."

"Okay," Sally simply said and hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, the three friends were gathered on Jacque's bedroom floor, hot chocolate in hand, because how can you have a girl powwow without hot chocolate?

"So fill it and spill it," Jen said.

"Okay," Jacque said, taking a deep breath. "So I'm sitting in my window seat, shades cracked, lights off, binoculars in hand…"

"Binoculars? Really, you honestly were using binoculars?" Sally interrupted.

"Well, you said you wanted details, so I was giving you details," Jacque defended.

"Oooh, did you have the Mission Impossible sound track playing in the background? Cuz that would have been spy-tastic," Jen said enthusiastically.

"Actually," Jacque said distractedly, "I was thinking more James Bond-ish. You know, with the whole stakeout thing…"

"No, huh-uh. That would be more like Dog the Bounty Hunter type stuff. But you couldn't be Beth, 'cause you're not stacked enough on top. You would have to be baby Lisa…" Jen rattled on.

"You are so, so not comparing me to Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughter right now. And why are we talking about this anyway, because it is sooooo NOT the point!" Jacque growled in frustration.

"Spy analogies aside, I was sitting there about an hour and then a black stretch limo pulled up in front of the Henrys' house."

"A limo? What foreign exchange student shows up in a limo?" Jen asked.

"I know, right? That's what I was thinking," Jacque stated. "I assure you the limo was of no consequence once the person inside stepped out. Ladies, I saw the most gorgeous guy to ever grace my line of sight."

"When you say gorgeous," Jen started, "are we talking Brad Pitt boyish good looks, or Johnny Depp make ya want to slap somebody?"

"No, we're talking Brad and Johnny need to bow down and recognize," Jacque answered. "But, aside from him being dropped off in a limo and aside from the fact that he was a walking Calvin Klein ad, it began to get strange at this point in our story, boys and girls," Jacque said in a spooky voice.

"Like it wasn't strange already?" Sally asked.

"Well...okay, strange-er. Just as he was about to walk up the path, he suddenly turned and looked straight at me, as if he could sense I was watching him! Like, he looked right in my eyes. I literally couldn't move. It was like I was mesmerized by him or something. And then we entered the world of 'what the hell.' As he was staring at me, I heard a voice in my head and it said 'at last, my Jacquelyn.' Then, as he turned to go in the house, I heard the voice again. It said, 'soon'."

Jacque stared expectantly at her two best friends, waiting for them to tell her she'd finally jumped off the deep end. But they just sat there, staring back at her.

"Well?" Jacque asked.

Finally, Jen stirred. Taking a deep breath in, she looked down at her empty hot chocolate mug and said, "We're gonna need more hot chocolate."

"Agreed," Sally and Jacque replied at the same time.

Once Jen had returned with three fresh mugs of hot chocolate and Oreo cookies, she said, "So, let me see if I'm catching what you're throwing. Hottie exchange student drives up in a limo, steps out, rocks your world, looks into your eyes, and speaks to you in your head? Am I getting the gist of it here?"

Jacque nodded her head, sheepishly looking at the floor. "I mean, I guess it was his voice in my head. It could've been a long lost dead relative who decided to speak to me the moment that hottie looked into my eyes."

Jen and Sally both gave Jacque their "get a larger spoon if your going to shovel it in that big" look.

"What?" Jacque asked. "I'm just saying," she said, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. Flopping back onto the floor, she groaned loudly and covered her eyes with the back of her hand. "Am I going crazy, ya'll?"

"No, sweetie. You've been gone a long time now, we just didn't want you to know that we knew," Sally said with humor.

"Seriously, I know it sounds crazy. But I promise I heard a voice – a beautiful, deep, masculine voice in my head, and it knew my name! That is crazy, jacked up, 'put her in a straight jacket', totally insane!" Jacque looked at them both with fear in her eyes. She truly did wonder if she had finally cracked.

There was after all, people in her family of questionable sanity, her mother being one of them. Jacque loved her mom and they had a good relationship, but she wasn't always in touch with reality. Jacque's father wasn't in the picture and never had been. He had bailed as soon as he found out her mom was pregnant. Thankfully, she had two best friends who kept her feet firmly on the ground, which was why she was so fervently seeking their thoughts on this matter.

Sally finally spoke up. "I don't think you're crazy, Jac. Really, you're not. There has to be some sort of explanation. We'll figure it out, we always do."

"Yeah," Jen added. "It's two weeks 'til school starts. From now until then we are on scout detail."

Sally nodded her agreement.

The three were quiet for a few minutes, each pondering ways to "run into" the new exchange student without seeming too obvious. Jen was lying on the floor, looking up at the ceiling fan when she said, "We need to find a way to introduce ourselves to him so that we can each get a good look and see if Sally or I hear a voice in our head."

"My mom was planning on taking over a good ol' Southern meal for him since he isn't from here. We could ask if we could go over with her. Or would that be too lame?" Jacque asked.

"No, I think that's perfect," Jen stated.

By midnight they had come up with a somewhat weak game plan, the whole of it revolving around going with Jacque's mom to give the new exchange student some fried chicken, taters, and corn on the cob. Seriously, how lame can you get? Jacque thought as she lay on her bedroom floor. Jen and Sally had fallen asleep on the other side of her room each with a blanket wrapped around them.

Jacque sat up and looked around her room. This was a place she felt safe and comfortable: the twin-size bed with the new green bed spread her mom had bought her for her birthday, the stained-glass lamp with absolutely no theme whatsoever that sat on her small wood desk. She, Sally, and Jen had carved various things on the desk's surface. She looked at her dresser mirror, which had pictures lining both sides, mostly of Jen, Sally and her in various places and poses.

A few hours ago I was just another seventeen year old getting ready to start her senior year. I was so normal, she thought.

She had three homecoming mums hanging on the wall next to her bed, and on the other side was the window seat she had occupied tonight, where her life had changed in a way she wasn't sure of yet. Jacque lay back down on her back and watched her ceiling fan go around in a circle, the motor lulling her to sleep. Her last thought as she drifted off was of a full moon, whatever that meant.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Now I know I'm not an expert of different languages, but if my Romanian is slightly off please tell me. Many Thanks.

Chapter 2

As his limo pulled up to the house where Fane would stay, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Not necessarily in a bad way, he just felt unsettled, restless, and tense.

Well, it could've been because he was more than a thousand miles away from home. He knew absolutely no one, it was his senior year in high school, and he was going to be spending it in a country he had never been to before.

"Yes I imagine that might make a person tense," Fane said to himself. He looked at the house and noticed it was quite large – two stories with a wrap-around porch. It actually looked like a house you might see out in the country, not in a suburb. The yard was nicely manicured with short green grass. There was a tall, full tree to the right of the walkway with a quaint bench underneath. On the porch there were two rocking chairs and a porch swing, and between the chairs was a little table with a potted plant. Overall, it was a charming home. A home in which a person would feel comfortable – a normal home.

Fane hoped this was the case because 'normal' was not usually a part of his vocabulary. He was, after all, from a family of werewolves. Specifically Grey wolves (Canis lupus). Not only that, he just happened to be the son of the Pack's current Alpha. His name, Fane Lupei, literally meant "Crown Wolf." How fitting for the Prince of the Romanian Greys.

What could possibly be normal about your family being able to change into wolves, or being a prince of those wolves yourself? Nothing in that scenario could ever be normal.

You made this choice, Fane told himself. Now you have to live with it. So get out of the car.

Fane wasn't really sure why he had even decided to apply to the foreign exchange program. He just knew he'd felt a pull, like a moth to a flame, to come to the United States. And not to just any city in the United States, but to Coldspring, Texas. Why he'd thought it was a good idea to leave his home in Romania, which had the largest number of Greys in the world, he didn't know.

There were other places that Canis lupus held as territories, like Ireland, the Balkans, and Poland – even Italy and Spain had some Grey wolves. One would think that a Grey would go to another territory where other Greys were. The problem was that wolves were extremely territorial, especially among males, and unless a wolf wanted a fight, you didn't wander into another's territory. Fortunately, there weren't any Canis lupus in the small town of Coldspring, so Fane was free to come and claim his own territory, which was completely in his nature to do.

Okay, no more stalling, Fane thought. He looked up at Sorin, his driver and friend, and said, "I guess this is it. Mulţumesc (thank you), my friend, for coming all this way to drop me off. I appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it, my Prince. It is always an honor to serve you."

"Oh, come now. Don't go getting all formal on me. Here in Coldspring, I'm just a high school student, not a prince," Fane said.

Fane knew this was hard for his friend, though Sorin's title was actually "Guard to the Prince" and had been since Fane was a child. Sorin had actually wanted to stay in the U.S. with Fane, but Fane had insisted Sorin go home and let him be on his own for a while. Because there were no other Greys in this area, it wasn't likely that he was going to get into a battle.

Sorin got out of the car to open Fane's door, but Fane was unfolding his tall form before Sorin could even get around the front of the car. Fane stood six foot two inches tall, which was a good five inches taller than Sorin, so once out of the car he had to look just a little lower to meet his long-time friend in the eye. Sorin bowed only slightly, a show of respect and love for the Prince, and then broke formality and hugged him. Wolves took great comfort in touch; it was as much in their nature as breathing and even in human form they tended to touch more than humans. Fane patted Sorin on the back and stepped away.

Out of nowhere, Fane caught a passing thought in his mind that caused his wolf to perk up.

"He must be more than just his driver."

Fane turned his head to look toward the thought's origin, and locked eyes with a girl in a window of the two-story house across the street.

The belief by humans that men "changed" into werewolves was false. Fane was able to do what the Canis lupus called "phasing". The wolf and the man were one, there was no changing from one to the other. A change would mean that once a man was in wolf form he was no longer a man, but fully wolf, and when in human form that he was fully human. This was not the case. A Canis lupus was always aware of his wolf, as was the wolf always aware of the man. They usually existed together harmoniously. When Fane was in his wolf form, he could still think and reason as if he were in his human form. When he was in his human form, he could call on his wolf to phase only the parts he needed to use instead of phasing his entire being.

He phased just enough to let his wolf eyes do the looking. Although the Grey wolf's eyesight wasn't as good as its hearing, its night vision was the best of all the breeds of wolves. He found himself looking into eyes the color of emeralds.

It registered in Fane's brain at that moment that he had "heard" her thoughts. There was only one person in the world that a Grey could hear thoughts from – his mate. His wolf growled possessively, and he took several deep breaths to keep from phasing. He discovered for the first time was what it was like to not be in harmony with his wolf. The wolf wanted out, he wanted to go to his mate, his other half. Fane knew it was a better idea not ti phase into his wolf and go pining at her window like a lovesick pup. He couldn't get her scent, so her window must have been closed. A wolf's mate also carried a certain scent that only he would recognize.

Reflexively, he sent her a thought as he picked her name out of her mind. "At last, my Jacquelyn." It was so natural to claim what was his, and she was without a doubt his, whether she knew it yet or not.

Judging from the look on her face, she had heard him, and for a minute he thought she just might pass out from shock. Further confirming that she was his mate, he could feel her distress and confusion. But he knew she would be fine, she was strong. She had to be because she was the mate of an Alpha and she was to be his Luna. She was so named because she, like the moon, had a pull over many things – she had power that other female Greys did not.

Fane turned and, ignoring his wolf's instincts to go to her, walked up to the house, so breaking the gaze that had locked them together. As he knocked on the door, he couldn't help himself and sent her another thought, one to assure her this encounter wasn't their last.

"Soon," he thought, and once again felt her confusion.

The Henrys were the family he would be living with for the next year – the "host" family was what they were called in the exchange program. This was the first time he had ever seen them and he was surprised at how young they were. They both looked to be in their early thirties. Mr. Henry was a little shorter than Fane and had sandy brown hair and brown eyes. He was thin, like a runner, and had a friendly face. Mrs. Henry was much shorter, with dark brown hair and pale brown eyes. She was average in size, neither heavy nor thin, and had a short, cute nose and rose-colored cheeks.

"Welcome to our home, Fane," Mrs. Henry said, reaching out to hug him.

Fane was a little surprised, as he knew Americans to be stand-offish when it came to touching. But he found comfort in the touch and sank into that feeling.

Mr. Henry held out his hand and Fane responded by shaking it. "We are very glad to have you here with us," Mr. Henry said.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay in your home. I appreciate your generosity greatly," Fane said sincerely.

"You must be tired from your long trip. Why don't we show you your room and let you get settled for the night. If you're hungry, I can show you the kitchen and you're welcome to help yourself to anything you find. We can visit more tomorrow and get better acquainted once you have rested," said Mrs. Henry kindly.

That was fine with Fane. He was very tired, but his brain was going ninety to nothing thinking about what he had just discovered. The wolf inside was restless knowing that his mate, who he possibly could've had to wait an eternity for, was just across the street.

Finally at the end of the hall, at the last door on the left, Mrs. Henry stepped aside and said, "Here is your room. We took the liberty of decorating it a bit, but you are welcome to change it anyway you like. So we'll leave you to it. Sleep tight."

"Mulţumesc," he stated formally. The Henrys looked at him quizzically. "Oh, that means 'thank you' in Romanian. Sometimes I forget and start speaking my native language, forgive me."

"Oh, no. That's great, Fane," Mrs. Henry said. "I would love to learn your language and culture. Please feel free to use it anytime you want."

"Well then, mulţumesc and noapte bună – which means good night," Fane told them.

With that, the Henrys turned and walked away, leaving Fane to explore his new territory.

He walked into his room and immediately felt at home. They had inadvertently decorated his room in winter tones with wolves as the dominate theme. How fitting, Fane thought. The walls were painted a white that glistened like snow and one had a mural of a winter forest; in the distance there was a wolf on a snowy hill, his head tilted to the sky in a lonely howl. The bed was a full-size with a thick blue comforter and lots of pillows.

To the left of the bedroom door was another door. Fane opened it, and walked into a huge closet with built-in drawers all along one wall. The back wall had a clothing bar across the top. Along the right side of the closet were various sizes of shelves from floor to ceiling. All in all, it was quite a sight – there was even a built-in shoe rack along the bottom of the closet all the way around the perimeter.

Fane stepped out of the closet and turned right to go into the other door and walked into a spacious bathroom with a glassed-in shower and separate bathtub. There was a long marble counter top with a deep bowl sink. The mirror that hung above the sink was antique-looking with a large curved pewter frame. The floor was stone tiled, and the light fixtures on the wall were old-world style lanterns. The hanging light fixture featured electric candles in a metal circular frame. It was becoming more and more obvious that the Henrys were quite wealthy.

After checking out all of his new territory – even in his human form Fane couldn't help seeing things as his territory or not – he decided to take a shower and wash off the smell of crowded airports and unfamiliar people. He took his time enjoying the hot water and finally decided he was ready to go to bed.

His final thought of the night was of Jacque's emerald eyes. He couldn't see the color of her hair because he had never gotten past her eyes. The shock of who and what she was had distracted him. Still, those emerald eyes led him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The morning sunlight shone into Jacque's room as she yawned noisily and stretched her limbs. She glanced over to where Sally and Jen had fallen asleep and saw they were snoozing soundly. I'll let them sleep while I get a shower, she thought. She still had things she needed to process from her encounter with hottie from across the street.

"Thanks, Jen," she muttered under her breath. Now she couldn't think of him as the foreign exchange student because Jen had so eloquently named him the "hottie."

Jacque would have to watch herself and make sure not to introduce herself by saying, "Hi, it's nice to meet you, hottie." Yeah, that wouldn't be embarrassing at all.

She gathered up some clean clothes, and as she stared in her closet she realized it was taking quite a long time to pick an outfit to wear to meet the hottie – grrr...the exchange student. Jac, she thought, say it to yourself. Ex-ch-an-ge student.

Finally she chose a pair of jeans that had holes in various places along the legs. Of course, they weren't there through any fault of hers; they were $125 jeans made to be ripped up…go figure. She picked a baby doll tee that said "I'm not stubborn, my way is just better." Better to let him know up front that I'm sarcastic, Jacque thought.

She headed to the bathroom to take a hot shower, hoping it would help settle her nerves. She didn't really understand why she was so nervous about meeting the exchange student – way to go, Jac, you didn't call him the hottie – but she was very nervous. It could be, she thought, because he might have spoken to me in my head.

"I'm mean, what the heck," she muttered.

Jacque took her time in the shower, finally getting out when the water started to get cold. She dried off with a towel and got dressed, then took her time fixing her hair. She couldn't decide if she should wear it up or down. "Good grief," she told herself, "you never have this much trouble getting ready." She just couldn't shake the feeling that something major had happened last night when she'd locked eyes with that handsome stranger.

Settling on wearing her hair up – it was summer in south Texas, after all, which basically meant frying eggs-on-the-side-walk hot – she headed back to her room to see if Sally and Jen had decided to join the living.

Sure enough, they were both sitting in the floor. Each had bed-head and looked a little dazed.

"You're up bright and early…and dressed," said Jen, sounding surprised.

"Well, I woke up with just a few things on my mind and knew it would be impossible to go back to sleep. Also, I need to go talk to my mom about us going over with her to greet the hot...I mean exchange student. Thanks to you, Jen, I will probably introduce myself to him by calling him hottie."

"Well if you do, I will be sure to do you the honor of laughing my ass off." Jen said graciously.

"Oh, thanks sooo much," Jacque retorted.

"Okay, kids. Let's play nice. We have plans to make, so let's not waste time competing over who can be the snottiest sista," Sally said in her best motherly voice.

"Okay, okay. Why don't ya'll take turns getting a shower. I will go talk to my mom about when she plans to head over to the Henrys'."

"Sounds good," Sally answered.

"Go team," Jen said with fake enthusiasm.

Jen could often be just as sarcastic as Jacque, which at times caused them to be the best of friends and the worst.

Jacque headed downstairs to find her mom already in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Lilly Pierce was not your average woman. She had a sketchy background growing up in a foster home, not knowing who her real parents were. She often had these "feelings" about things that were going to happen, and the scary thing was she was usually right. Jacque and her mom never really talked about it, though Jacque was beginning to show signs of a similar nature. Only Jacque didn't know things, she could feel things – like others' emotions. It was very subtle at times. She might be in a room with her mom and, without Lilly ever saying anything, Jacque would know without a doubt her mother was sad or worried or confused. She didn't know how she knew it, she just did. It wasn't reliable, though, because she could go days without feeling another's emotions. Jacque didn't want to know things, or feel things; she just wanted to be normal.

As Jacque looked around the kitchen, she saw there was a pan of fried chicken on the stove and corn in a pot of boiling water. Her mom was steadily mixing a bowl of mashed potatoes, adding milk and butter as she saw fit.

"Hey, mom. How goes the southern meal making?" Jacque asked.

"I'm almost done, I just need to put some rolls in the oven. Would you mind getting them and putting them on a pan? They aren't homemade, just those Hawaiian rolls, but they're really good."

"Yeah, I can do that." Jacque bent down to grab a pan. "So, Sally, Jen and I were wondering if you needed help carrying all this over to the Henrys'," she said, trying to sound casual. Her mom looked at her questioningly and Jacque figured she hadn't even come close to casual.

"Are you really wanting to help or is this just a perfect opportunity to meet the new exchange student? It is a guy, right?" Lily asked.

"Yes, he is a guy, and maybe we would like to see who he is. But we do also really want to help you. I don't think you can carry all this over on your own," Jacque answered.

"Well, I was going to ask you to help me anyway. And I thought you girls would be interested in meeting the new young man, especially since you and Trent split up."

"Do not go there, Mom! This has nothing to do with him. It's only natural to want to meet someone new, and especially since he's not from our country," Jacque stated firmly.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to be defensive. I will be ready just as soon as those rolls are done warming. I'm going to call the Henrys now to make sure they're okay with us coming over in ten minutes."

Jacque put the rolls on the pan in straight rows. As her mom was stepping out of the room to call the Henrys, she caught the briefest hint of worry coming off of her. It had been a while since she had picked anything up from her mom so it kind of made her take a step back. I wonder what she's worried about?

She headed back upstairs to see if the girls were done getting ready and to let them know the plan was in motion. Man, she felt ridiculous as she thought about how it sounded to have a "plan" to meet a guy, and not meet him like "hey, what's up," but meet him like, "hey, are you a weirdo or something?" What was her world coming to? Oh, well. Could be worse. She could be hearing voices...oh wait, she was. Well, crap.

Sally was done with her shower and doing her hair when she got upstairs. Sally could be very efficient when she needed to be, and she wasn't one to be overly fussy about her looks. Of course, that could've been because she would be pretty even with a paper bag over her head. Her long coffee-colored hair was striking against her mocha-colored skin. She honestly didn't look like a Sally. Whatever, Jacque thought. I didn't pick her name.

Jen was still in the shower and Jacque could hear her singing Martina McBride's "Independence Day." She was belting it out proudly and tunelessly.

Jacque banged on the door and hollered, "Yeah, yeah, you're strong, free and independent, we get it. Hurry up! We're rolling out ten minutes ago!" Jen just sang louder. Jacque rolled her eyes and went back to her room.

"If she's planning on blow drying that blond mess on her head then we're leaving her here," Jacque told Sally, looking over to see her shoving her feet into shoes.

"Well, I'm ready when you are, Sherlock. Let's go check hottie out," Sally said with a wink.

"How lucky I am to have you, my dear Watson," Jacque said, smiling.

Jen stepped into Jacque's room fully clothed, hair up in a French twist.

"What's taking you guys so long? I've been ready for two minutes," Jen said with fake exasperation.

"Oh, a whole two minutes? How dare us make you wait. Please don't have us flogged, your majesty," Jacque retorted.

"It's about time you realized who the queen is in this outfit," Jen said, grinning.

"Girls, I'm ready if you all are!" they heard Jacque's mom yell.

Well, here we go, Jacque thought. She felt in that moment that she was walking into the lion's den. Just what had she gotten herself into?

"I think I am officially going to be sick," Jacque said with a slight moan.

"Take slow deep breaths. If you pass out while we're over there, I once again tell you I will laugh my ass off," Jen said.

"Man, you're just a ball of warm fuzzies, aren't you?" Jacque said, glaring at Jen.

"I'm just saying," Jen laughed.

Turning in a circle with arms out and palms turned up, Jacque said "How do I look? Is this shirt a little much?"

"No, I think it's perfect. It makes a statement like, 'hey, I'm not scared of your little mind gibberish'," Sally encouraged.

"But I am scared of his mind gibberish. If it is really his mind gibberish and not something else entirely," Jacque said, sounding forlorn.

"Oh, come on. Pull yourself together, man. He's just a guy, okay? Nothing more and nothing less," Jen stated with utter confidence.

The only thing was that Jacque didn't believe mystery guy was just a guy. No, he was more, much more. She just didn't know what yet. As they began to descend the stairs, a thought touched her mind, one that was not her own.

"Good morning, my Luna," Jacque heard.

She stumbled a few steps on the stairs. Jen reached out to steady her. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I just heard the voice again," Jacque said shakily.

"What did it say?" Sally asked.

"'Good morning, my loona'," Jacque answered. "What the stink does that mean?" I can't believe I thought it was a good idea to go over there, she thought.

Jacque's mom was standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching them closely. She had that look that Jacque knew all too well – her mom knew something was up. She could feel her emotions strongly and, according to them, Lily Pierce was very concerned.

"Are you girls coming?" her mom asked.

"Lead the way, Ms. Pierce," Jen said.

Each of the girls carried a dish of food; Jacque's mom had even made sweet tea. After all, what's a southern meal without sweet tea?

As they stepped out of the house and onto the walkway, the sun shone brightly down on them. It was ten am and it was already blistering hot.

Although the grass on some of the lawns was still healthy and green, Jacque's lawn was brown and dead. Of course, that could've been because her mom mowed it way too short last time in hopes she could go longer than a week between mowing. She'd inadvertently killed the grass in the process. Oh well, Jacque thought, it's not like we're going for first place in the prettiest lawn competition. Goodness knows both she and her mother would rather pull their toenails out than work in the yard in that ridiculous southern Texas heat.

As they crossed the street, Jacque saw the curtains of the right second story window part. Briefly, she saw the handsome face looking back at her. She looked away to get the attention of Sally and Jen, but when she looked back to point him out the curtains had closed.

"He was standing in the window, ya'll. I promise I did not imagine it." Jacque sounded a little desperate.

"We believe you, Jac. Stop doubting that," Sally said with conviction.

She's right, Jacque thought. They were her best friends and they would stick by her no matter what.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Fane woke up and, without thinking, sought out Jacquelyn's mind. It felt like second nature to him even though he'd just met her. Well, more like found her.

He spoke into her mind effortlessly, "Good morning, my Luna," and instantly felt her panic and confusion.

He listened to Jacque tell her friends that she had heard his voice, or rather a voice she wasn't completely convinced was his. And she wanted to know what 'Luna' meant. He also caught the passing thought that she was on her way over here…now.

Fane looked at himself in the mirror and quickly decided a shower was in order – and something more presentable than pajama pants with no shirt.

He quickly jumped in the shower and was out in a record five minutes. He was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing his teeth, when he noticed something different on his chest and shoulder.

Fane, like every male Canis lupus, had markings that looked like tattoos. They appeared of their own accord once puberty hit. These markings revealed where in the pack order a wolf belonged, and the more elaborate the marking, the higher the rank. The tattoos varied in size, shape, and on what side of the body they were on. The marks were dark black, with curves and points at the ends of the lines. Fane's were on his right side, which indicated he was a dominant. It started on his right shoulder blade and came over the top of his shoulder, going down onto his bicep and across the right side of his chest. The fact that it came around to the front of his body indicated he was an Alpha. Only Alphas had markings on the front and back of their bodies. That way, no matter what direction he was facing, all could see his markings and know the identity of the pack's leader.

Sometime between the night before and that morning, the markings had climbed up the right side of his neck – they looked like black flames.

Fane honestly didn't know what it meant. He had never heard of the markings spreading. He decided he would have to call his father later today to find out what it meant. Meanwhile, he hoped the Henrys didn't notice that the markings weren't there last night, which might've been a little difficult to explain.

Deciding there was nothing to be done about it at the moment, he moved on and quickly ran a razor across his face and threw on some aftershave.

Fane walked over to his suitcase to pick out some clothes. He hadn't bothered to unpack anything last night because he'd been so tired. There weren't a whole lot of variations to his wardrobe: black, grey, and dark blue shirts mostly. He had a lot of long sleeved shirts because of the cold in Romania. He'd had to buy short sleeved shirts to prepare to come to the U.S.

He decided on a dark grey short sleeve t-shirt and his Lucky brand jeans. He pulled on his biker boots and grabbed his wallet, which had a chain attached to it.

Although motorcycles weren't very popular in Romania – because of the temperature – Fane loved them and owned a Honda. He tried to ride as much as he could and, of course, was completely covered in leather when he did ride to stay warm.

He'd wanted to bring his motorcycle with him, but his parents had offered to buy him a used bike once he got here. He was planning on talking to Mr. Henry about that later today, to see if he would be willing to take Fane to a motorcycle dealership to pick one out. His parents had given him a credit card with a decent limit on it. It should get him a pretty nice bike.

Just when he was ready to go downstairs, his wolf perked up at the sound of footsteps in the street. He walked over to the window and parted the curtains. What luck, he thought to himself. His window was directly in front of Jacquelyn's house.

He looked down at the street and saw three teenage girls walking with who must've been Jacquelyn's mother.

His gaze shifted to the only one who mattered and she looked straight up into his face.

She is beautiful, Fane thought. Now that he could get a good look at her, he saw that she had wild, unruly, auburn curls. Freckles dusted her fair skin. She was on the short side, thin, but not skinny. She was wearing faded, holey jeans and a green shirt that said, "I'm not stubborn, my way is just better."

So his Luna had attitude. Well, of course she would. It wasn't like a meek woman could be Alpha to female Greys – they would tear a timid Alpha apart. Jacque turned to talk to her friends. While she was turned, he stepped away from the window to head downstairs.

Fane had to admit he was a little nervous about meeting her. He had never been nervous with girls. Then again, he hadn't really dated much. No one ever seemed to catch his eye so he'd figured, why waste his time? The few girls he had dated never produced even a quarter of the attraction he felt for Jacquelyn.

He wished now that he'd gotten up earlier and called his father to talk to him about this whole mate thing. He had learned a little growing up, but he still felt very unprepared to handle it. Especially since she was human and knew nothing of his world.

As Fane came to the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang. He heard Mrs. Henry coming from the right side of the house. As she came around the corner, she saw that he was there and smiled at him warmly.

"Good morning, Fane. Did you sleep well?"

"Bună dimineaţa," Fane said gracefully. "I slept very well, thank you."

"I take it that 'bună dimineaţa' means good morning?" Mrs. Henry asked.

"That was a very good pronunciation. And yes, it means good morning," Fane explained.

"Oh, I guess I better get the door," she said just as the doorbell rang again.

As Mrs. Henry opened the door, Fane felt his stomach tighten in anticipation. What am I going to say to her? he wondered. Well, naturally he couldn't very well declare her his mate in front of all these humans – they would think he was mad.

So he settled with a simple, "Hello my name is Fane." Yes, he thought. That's a very normal thing to say. And normalcy was what he wanted, after all.

The four ladies were standing at the threshold of the door.

"Lilly, how sweet it is of you to come over to meet our guest!" Mrs. Henry announced kindly.

"We come bearing a homemade southern meal for the newcomer," Lilly responded.

"Come in! Let me introduce you to Fane. He's from…well, here. I'll let him tell you. He can speak for himself, after all," Mrs. Henry said as they all filed into the entryway.

"Sara, why don't we set this food in the kitchen? Then we can sit in the living room to make our introductions. That suit you okay?" Lilly asked.

"Oh, of course, of course. You all can't stand here in the front door holding all that food. You would think I've never had company before. Come on, girls, and let's set it on the counter in the kitchen," Mrs. Henry said, sounding a little flustered with herself.

Sara, Fane thought. So that's Mrs. Henry's first name. He hadn't even thought to ask when he'd met them last night.

Once the food was left in the kitchen, they all met in the living room. Lilly sat on the rocking chair by the fireplace, while the three girls sat on the couch next to the rocking chair. Mrs. Henry and Fane both sat on the love seat across from the couch. There was a wooden coffee table in between the couch and love seat that had various magazines and some coasters sitting on it.

Fane realized that while he'd been cataloging the room, the five ladies had all been looking at him expectantly. He noticed Jacquelyn's gaze linger on the markings on his neck. His wolf liked that she noticed even though she didn't know what they meant.

He cleared his throat and started speaking. "Good morning, doamnelor (ladies). My name is Fane Lupei and I am from Romania. I am seventeen and I will be a senior this year." Fane looked at each of the ladies, pausing briefly on Jacquelyn. "Should I say more?" he asked.

Lilly looked at him quizzically. "What does dome-na-ler mean exactly?"

Fane tried not to grin too much at her poor pronunciation. Romanian, after all, was a very difficult language to speak.

"It means 'ladies'. I was saying good morning. I have a bad habit of mixing my native language with my English, I beg your pardon," Fane said to Lilly.

"I don't mind. It's actually pretty neat to hear you speak Romanian. It's not a language one hears very often, if ever," Lilly assured him.

There was an awkward pause for a moment, and then the blond-haired friend of Jacquelyn's looked at him poignantly and asked "So why Coldspring, Texas?"

Fane cocked his head to the side, just like he would do in his wolf form. "Scuzaţi-mă (excuse me)?" he asked. "I do not understand the question."

"Why did you choose to come to our little blink-of-an-eye town?" Jen asked, speaking slowly, as if to a child.

Jacquelyn elbowed her, which made Fane smile.

"Oh, I see. Well, honestly, I'm not sure. When I applied for the exchange program they sent me several candidates for my host family. I read about them and something about the Henrys felt right. I don't know if I explained it right, but that is only how I know to say it," Fane answered.

"Your English is very good," Jacquelyn's other friend, the brunette, stated.

"Da (yes), my parents have always spoken both Romanian and English to me. They thought it would be foolish to think I would only need to know Romanian language and culture," Fane explained to her.

"So you have studied American culture as well?" Mrs. Henry asked.

"Da. American culture is quite different from mine. What I have been taught by teachers has not always stood true in real life."

"Okay," Lilly said firmly. "Enough of the Spanish inquisition. Girls, let's briefly introduce ourselves and be on our way so Fane can get settled in."

Lilly simply introduced herself from where she sat. "Fane, my name is Lilly Pierce and I'm Jacque's mom. I own a bookstore on the square downtown to which you are most welcome anytime to study or chat. Please call me Lilly, as I am not my mother. She was Ms. Pierce. I am so glad to know you."

"Meu doamnă, acesta este un onoruri," Fane said, bowing ever so slightly.

"In your language I said,' my lady, it is an honor'," Fane translated.

Jen stood up and held out her hand. "I'm Jennifer Adams, a.k.a. Jen. I am also seventeen and a senior. Glad to know ya," she said as he took her hand.

To her surprise, he did not shake it. He simply brought her hand to his lips, just barely laying them on the top of it.

Fane looked up at Jen after lightly kissing her hand and said, "Sa o placere sa te cunosc."

Jen looked slightly dazed and confused.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Fane translated.

Sally stood up, gently pushing the hazy-looking Jen back down to the couch and then held out her hand.

"I'm Sally Morgan, seventeen, senior, and it's nice to meet you," she said with natural cheer.

Again, Fane took her hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a feather soft kiss on the top of it. Then he repeated what he'd said to Jen. "Sa o placere sa te cunosc."

Sally sat down next to Jen and, when Jacquelyn made no move to stand up, Jen reached over and pinched the back of her arm.

"Oww!" Jacque yelped.

She glared at her friend but finally caught on to what Sally was silently telling her.

Standing up to introduce herself, Jacque began to speak, and for a moment her mouth wouldn't spit out what her brain was telling her to say. "Oh, um, I, um..." Good grief, Jacque thought to herself, spit it out already. "I'm Jacque, seventeen, and a senior as well. Lilly is my mom." She made no move to give Fane her hand.

The surprise on her face was obvious when he reached out and took her hand anyway. Fane bowed over as he brought it to his lips, and this time they lingered there.

As he held her hand to his mouth he took in her scent and found to his pleasure she smelled of cotton candy and fresh snow, an odd, but strangely familiar combination. He tried not to growl possessively, but couldn't quite suppress the urge completely. Fane knew Jacquelyn had heard him because she tensed even more.

He lifted his eyes to hers and just as he had said to Sally and Jen, he told her, "Sa o placere sa te cunosc.

The only difference was as he spoke to her with his mouth he also sent her a message with his thoughts.

"I am so honored to finally meet you, my Luna," he told her. "We have much to learn about each other."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

From the moment she had stepped into the Henrys' house, Jacque's nerves had been rattled over being around the strange exchange student. Not to mention, as soon as she locked eyes with Fane she felt a weird tingling sensation across the top of her shoulders and behind her neck. She reached up and placed her hand on her neck, tilting it a bit as if it were stiff. That was weird, she'd thought.

Mystery guy was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt, jeans, motorcycle boots, and the wallet in his back pocket was attached with a metal chain. The guy could make a plastic bag look sexy.

The look on his face was one of curiosity and what she thought might be nervousness. That surprised her because at first glance he did not appear to be the nervous type.

Mrs. Henry told them all to bring the food into the kitchen and then everyone was to go to the living room to be introduced to their guest.

Once seated in the Henrys' living room, they all listened to Fane introduce himself. Finally, something to call him other than mystery guy and hottie, Jacque thought.

Jen asked why he had chosen this little town and when he didn't understand the question the first time, she asked him again and spoke down like he was a child. This earned Jen an elbow in the ribs, courtesy of Jacque. After all, was it really any of their business why he came? But Jen just shrugged her off and waited for Fane to answer. He appeared confused and cocked his head in an odd way, kind of like she had seen dogs do. Oh, that's so gracious of me, comparing the Romanian to a dog. Jacque wished someone would just put her out of her misery.

Sally mentioned that Fane's English was very good and he explained that he'd been taught English right along with Romanian all his life.

Lilly finally stepped in and suggested each girl introduce herself, so they could get going and let Fane and the Henrys get settled.

Lilly's mom was the first one to speak. She told Fane her name and occupation, and instructed him that he was to call her Lilly.

Then her friends were next. He's gonna think we are absolutely crazy, Jacque thought.

When Jen stepped forward to introduce herself, she held out her hand to shake Fane's. To everyone's surprise, instead of shaking it, he kissed it.

Jacque was completely dumbfounded when she felt herself having an extremely irrational wave of jealousy flow through her. In that moment she wanted to wrench Jen's hand from Fane's and growl at her. Growl! Are you freaking kidding me? Jacque thought.

She noticed that Sally had to push Jen down to the couch because she was slightly dazed from the encounter. This did nothing to calm Jacques raging emotions.

Jacque had to brace herself, as Fane was now lifting Sally's hand to his lips. She couldn't understand why she was feeling like this. It was totally obvious that his greeting was completely non-romantic – which, by the way, shouldn't matter to her anyway – and yet she did not want him to touch another female. Okay, Jacque thought, it's official. I have dived headfirst off the deep end.

Out of nowhere, she felt a sharp pain. Yelping, she turned to look at Jen – who had just pinched her. She realized then that Fane was looking at her expectantly and she had just been sitting there like an idiot in her own little bubble.

Jacque stood up but made no move to give him her hand. She introduced herself, sounding so eloquent when she couldn't spit out what she was trying to say. She was getting ready to sit down when Fane reached out and grabbed her hand. She was a little startled, but that quickly faded into something else entirely when he bowed over her hand and pressed his lips firmly against it. Jacque could swear she heard him take a deep breath through his nose and growl low in his throat. That was really weird, she thought. But once again, for her things couldn't simply be weird, they had to be downright insane.

As Fane repeated what he had told Jen and Sally, Jacque also heard the voice in her mind.

"I am so honored to finally meet you, my Luna. We have much to learn about each other."

Jacque blinked a few times, trying to clear her thoughts. What on earth could it possibly mean by "finally meet"? she thought. Did this voice know it was waiting for me? It was time to go home, Jacque decided. She needed to talk to Sally and Jen about Fane, she needed to decide whether or not to confide in her mother, and she needed to have a good, cleansing panic attack. Not necessarily in that order.

Jacque pulled her hand from Fane's grasp and he didn't try to keep her from doing so. She turned to look at her mom, raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you ready? I'm good to go. Sally, Jen, ya'll ready to go?"

Jen and Sally both nodded at the same time, quickly catching Jacque's mood.

Lilly looked at her daughter suspiciously, but merely nodded and turned to Mrs. Henry. "Thank you, Sara, for having us over. It was really nice to see you. Fane, it was great to meet you. Don't make yourself a stranger. You're welcome over at our house anytime."

Fane bowed slightly, placing his hand over his heart. "As we say in my country when parting, pînă la următor timp Mai . Moon lumină al tău patetic. It means: until next time, may the moon light your path."

Jen looked at Fane and in her outspoken way asked, "Is that kinda like an Irish proverb? Only, ya know, like a Romanian proverb instead?"

Sally giggled, Jacque looked mortified, and Fane simply smiled. "Yes, something like that."

Jacque pushed Jen and Sally towards the door, trying very hard not to look and see if Fane was watching her. She knew somehow that he was. So, what the heck? Might as well watch him back, she told herself. She tentatively looked over her shoulder and, sure enough, Fane was staring at her. He had a slight smile on his face and his eyes were squinted together ever so slightly, giving her the impression that he knew something she did not. That thought made her shudder and push Jen and Sally harder out the door.

"We're going, Jacque. Good grief," she heard Jen grunt.

"Well, go a little quicker please!" Jacque whispered through tight lips.

The girls walked briskly down the walkway and across the street, not even bothering to see if Jacque's mom was behind them. All Jacque could think was that she needed to put some space between her and that hottie. Okay, so she still couldn't stop calling him hottie. Well, it's true, so go jump in a lake already, she told herself.

Once inside the house the three girls double timed it up the stairs and into Jacque's bedroom. Sally shut the door firmly and turned to pin Jacque with her best "you better spill it now" stare. Jen had pulled up some carpet and was staring just as sternly.

Jacque took some slow, deep breaths. I seem to be doing this a lot lately, she thought.

"First impressions?" Jacque finally prompted.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe something like, OH MY, stutter, drool, FREAKING, pant, deep breathing, GOSH!" Jen spat.

Sally nodded fervently. "Yeah, what she said, but more panting and deep breathing on my end."

"What about you?" Jen asked. "You didn't seem as mesmerized as us. Why is that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I was, ya know, a little distracted by THE VOICE IN MY HEAD!" Jacque realized she was yelling. "I'm sorry, ya'll. I shouldn't take my stress out on you. I'm just – just – I don't know. Freaking out, I guess."

"Have you tried talking back to the voice? You know, like answering it through your thoughts?" Sally asked tentatively.

Jacque shook her head. "I feel like if I do, then I am just solidifying the fact that I'm losing it."

"You're NOT losing it. Something is definitely up with this Fane guy. No one, and I mean no one, can look that good and make you want to curl up and purr when he talks to you. Something's fishy and it's not your mom's fried chicken," Jen told her.

Jacque turned to her window and opened the blinds. She looked across the street at the Henrys' house and wondered what to do about Fane Lu-whatever his last name was.

She heard her two best friends walk up beside her. With all three gazing out the window, they put their arms around her.

"I know I've said it before, and I will keep saying it until it sinks into that unruly, curly head of yours, but it will be alright. You are not alone in this, okay?" Sally said with love.

"Yeah, chick. You got us, no matter what," Jen agreed. "Besides, we're too nosy to not stick around."

Sally pulled a strand of Jen's hair as a scolding. "Ow! Crap, I'm just saying!" Jen scowled.

Jacque turned away from the window and wiped away the tears she hadn't even realized were there. Then she hugged her friends.

"Okay, I know you guys need to go home and assure your parents that you're still alive and haven't been abducted or anything. But do ya'll think you can come back later?"

Both girls nodded.

"I will have to do some laundry and pick up my room to pacify my mom, you know how it is, but then I can come back over and stay the night again if your mom is cool with it," Jen said.

Sally spoke up as well. "Yeah, I can be back around seven tonight. I just need to take care of some chores as well."

"Okay, that sounds good. I'll let my mom know that ya'll will be back. I know she won't care."

Jacque walked them downstairs to the front door and watched as they each walked to their cars. She stood in the doorway, watching them drive off until she couldn't see their cars any longer. She slowly turned and went back into the house, shutting the door behind her.

She stood in the entryway, looking at nothing. Her mind was running amok again and Jacque was trying to decipher the thoughts. It was no use. She was tired, emotional, and beginning to realize that ever since she had walked out of the Henrys' house and away from Fane, it was taking all she had not to turn around and run – not walk, but run like a cat with a fire cracker tied to its tail – back to him. What the hell was up with that?

Jacque's head snapped up when she heard her mom hollering from upstairs. "Jacque? I need to go to the store for a little while. I've got some new inventory I need to take care of, and since I was able to hire some other staff I can finally get caught up." Her mom came to the top of the stairs and looked down at her. Tilting her head, she asked, "Are you okay, sweetie? You look a little frayed around the edges."

"Naw, I'm good. Just a little tired. I didn't sleep too well last night," Jacque fibbed. Then she thought of how she had been feeling her mom's emotions so strongly and decided to say something. "What about you mom? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind, that's all. Nothing to worry about. Why don't you lie down for a little bit? Are you gonna be okay while I'm gone? Need me to get you anything while I'm out?" her mom asked.

"No. I'll be fine, mom. Thanks though. Oh yeah, I did want to check and see if you were okay with Sally and Jen spending the night again tonight?"

"No, I don't have a problem with that if their parents are okay with it. Ya'll can order pizza if I'm not home by dinner," she answered.

Jacque hugged her mom and told her goodbye before heading up to her room. She shut the door, turned off the lights, and put her Evanescence CD on. The music was oddly calming to her. Then she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Fane watched as Jacquelyn hurried back to her house. He wanted to growl at her eagerness to get away from him, but he reminded himself it was only because she was scared, not because she didn't want to accept him as her mate. After all, she didn't even know him, let alone know what a mate was.

Mrs. Henry called him from in the kitchen and he went to see what she wanted.

"Lilly made you a traditional Southern meal. Are you ready for lunch yet? It's only 11:30, but I thought you might be hungry since you didn't get a chance to have breakfast."

"Actually, I am hungry and it all smells really good." Fane's wolf perked up at the smell of the chicken and his stomach growled. He hadn't realized that he was so hungry.

"The plates are in the cabinet to the left of the stove, and the silverware is in the drawer to the right of the sink," Mrs. Henry pointed out. "Eat all you want. Oh and she made sweet tea as well. It's in the fridge. The glasses are in the cabinet next to the plates."

"Thank you," Fane said simply.

"I'm off to the grocery store; I didn't get a chance to go yesterday. Is there anything in particular that you like?" she asked.

"I'm not picky and I like to try new things, so whatever you usually buy will be fine with me. I can give you some money as well, since you will be feeding another mouth," Fane answered.

"There is no way I'm taking any of your money, Fane, so you can just get that notion out of your head. You are our guest, and we are more than pleased to feed you," she said firmly but not unkindly.

"Mulţumesc, Mrs. Henry. I am most grateful," Fane responded.

"You're welcome. Oh, I keep meaning to tell you, no more Mrs. Henry. Call me Sara and you can call Mr. Henry Brian. Okay, well, I'll see you later. My cell phone number is on the front of the fridge, so put it in your phone in case you need me. See you later," she said with a wave.

Fane walked over to the fridge and there on the front was a pink sticky note with both Sara and Brian's cell phone numbers. He took his phone out of his pocket and put both numbers in his contacts.

He found himself thinking it was kind of odd that he would never need Jacquelyn's cell phone number, because he would always have a direct line to her designated just for him, and she to him as well. He wasn't sure if that was a little unsettling because it meant if and when Jacquelyn realized it, she had access to his thoughts…all his thoughts. There was a way to put up what you might call a wall in your mind if you needed a break from your mate, but it was difficult for mates to be cut off from each other for any length of time. Not that he knew from experience, that was just what his father had told him about the mate bond.

Even though Jacquelyn had yet to respond to him when he spoke through her thoughts, he wasn't feeling any ill effects from her lack of reciprocation. Once again, he was going to need to talk to his father about this.

He prepared himself a plate and a glass of sweet tea (and really, it should have been called sugar with some tea in it), and decided to eat up in his room since Sara was gone and he hadn't seen Brian this morning.

He sat at the desk right next to the window that faced Jacquelyn's house and pulled the blinds up so he could look out. Taking a bite of chicken, he thought about her for the millionth time since he'd set eyes on her. He thought about her unruly hair, her green eyes, her – what he now knew to be soft – skin dusted with freckles, and most of all her scent. Cotton candy and fresh snow, what an odd thing to smell like, but he supposed it had something to do with who she was, sweet and pure – and he had a feeling she could be as cold as the Romanian snow if the situation called for it.

Fane continued to eat his lunch, his wolf thoroughly enjoying the protein even though it was cooked. He of course preferred it raw and enjoyed it even more after a hunt. Still, it was excellent.

He took his plate back downstairs and washed out his glass, refilling it with water this time. With no sign of Brian, he headed back up to his room. He wanted to see Jacquelyn, and if he couldn't, he would settle for talking to her.

Once in his room, he shut the door and lay down on his bed, hands behind his head, eyes focused on nothing in particular, and reached out to her.

"Have I scared you, my Luna? I promise that has not been my intention."

He found it interesting that he didn't really even know how it worked, he simply would just think of her and he was instantly able to "speak" to her.

Fane realized it had been several minutes and she had not responded. She was either asleep or ignoring him. He was just about to speak again when she answered.

Cautiously she asked, "Who are you? Are you real, or am I just imagining you?"

Fane frowned slightly. He didn't like the way his mate sounded – strained and a little desperate. He hated that she had to go through this, that she knew nothing of his world. He was going to have to explain it somehow without her thinking he was some nebun stalker.

"I am very real," he answered. "And you know who I am. Your human mind just does not want to accept it."

Fane was going to push her gently in the direction she needed to go and let her come up with the conclusion. If he told her he was the voice in her head, if he didn't let her decide for herself, then she might not be able to believe it.

He listened as she wrestled with what he told her. Her mind was so interesting and comical at times.

"What on earth did it mean by "human mind"? Was the voice implying that it was not human? Oh, wouldn't that be the icing on the cake. I'm no just hearing a voice, nope, that would still be in the realm of crazy. I passed crazy a few exits back. No, I'm now entering crackpot ville."

Fane couldn't help himself when he let out a small laugh. Where did she come up with phrases like "crackpot ville"? He just had to ask. He wanted to know her, to understand her. He found himself using a term of endearment – "my heart" – without even thinking. It just came naturally, even though he never considered himself to be the type for pet names.

"Meu inimă, you are not crazy. And where do you get your odd way of speaking? Crackpot ville? What does that mean exactly?" Fane asked her.

Without realizing it, in using his native language he had not just given her a little push in the right direction, he'd pretty much shoved her off a cliff. So much for subtle. It never was his strong suit anyway, according to his mother.

He felt her distress rise, could feel her need for disbelief, and yet there was a small spark of…relief? Didn't see that one coming, Fane thought as he closed his eyes and focused on her, listening to her mind come to terms with this revelation.

Well, there's the clincher, Jacque thought. I mean, really. If you're going to hear a voice, what are the chances it would have a Romanian accent? To Fane's and evidently her surprise, she started to laugh, not just a giggle but a full-out, body shaking laugh. For some reason unbeknownst to Fane, it just suddenly struck her as funny. Of course she now knew it wasn't just a voice, it was Fane. After all she didn't know any other Romanians, and just to put the nail in the proverbial coffin, she asked in a soft, almost shy voice,"Fane?"

His heart stuttered at the sound of his name. Even though it wasn't from her lips, she'd said it and it sounded so good coming from her. A small amount of triumph settled over him and his wolf growled in contentment knowing his mate was thinking of him. He answered her honestly, wanting her to believe him without a doubt.

"Da, meu inimă. It is I."

Fane held his breath, waiting for her response, scared that she would continue to try and pass this off as her lack of sanity. What would he do if she refused to take her place at his side? He hadn't even considered the idea of her not accepting him. He growled in response at the thought. Mates were bound to each other; there would never be another for either one of them. To Fane's knowledge there had never been one who had rejected their mate. It would be a devastating action for both and neither would ever be whole again.

That just wasn't acceptable, he decided. He would drag her back to Romania with him where she belonged, if it came to that.

Right, Fane, he told himself. That would really earn her trust. You can't just hit her over the head and drag her around by her hair, even though that would actually be the easier road. No, he was going to have to do this the honorable way and court her. Jacque deserved that, after all. She was his Luna, and would be Queen of the Canis lupus one day – she deserved his unwavering love and devotion. And she would get nothing less.

He continued to wait for her response. He thought about reaching out to her to find out what she was thinking, but up til now he had been giving her privacy, only intruding into her thoughts when he spoke to her. It would be a violation to listen to her when she didn't know that he could do so any time – he could also "see" the things she thought in her head. And as a gentleman he would not violate his Luna's privacy, mate or not.

Fane decided to let her be for now. She needed time to process the fact that the guy she met only briefly was somehow able to talk to her through her thoughts. That was a lot to absorb. He would wait to see if she would seek him out. He only hoped that he and his wolf would be patient. The mate bond called to him and demanded an answer.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jacque's eyes snapped open at the revelation that was causing her to hyperventilate. Fane! The voice was Fane! Once he had answered her, she believed without a doubt that she wasn't just hearing a voice made up by her subconscious. It was someone real, tangible, and...well, hot! Not that him being hot is important, Jacque thought to herself. But it seriously didn't hurt.

No longer able to lie still, Jacque got up and went over to her window. She opened the blinds and looked across the street at the Henrys' house, wondering what Fane was doing. Wondering if he was wondering about her. Oh, good grief, she told herself. You just met him, you don't even know him, and you're wondering if he's thinking about you? Do yourself a favor - get a Kit Kat and give yourself a break.

She closed the blinds and leaned back against the wall, shutting her eyes. After taking a deep breath, she decided she needed to do something to keep herself occupied until Sally and Jen came back over. There was a pile of dirty clothes on the floor next to her closet, she grabbed the empty laundry basket, filled it, and carried it downstairs to the laundry room. Still not operating on all four cylinders, she didn't even bother to sort them out, she just threw her whites and colors together and tossed some detergent on top of them. She shut the washer lid and headed back into the living room.

"Okay," she said out loud. "What next?" She turned in a complete circle, letting her eyes roam over the room. The only thing she could see was that the living room needed to be dusted. She went into the kitchen and got supplies from under the kitchen sink and headed back to the living room. Trying to drag things out, she sprayed each item and carefully wiped them with the dusting cloth. By the time she was done, Jacque was sure the living room had never been so clean.

She put the dust cloth and spray away and then her clothes were ready to go into the dryer.

When she finally looked at the clock, she moaned as she realized it had only been an hour since she'd come downstairs. What was she going to do now? I could go over to the Henrys' and see if they were done with mom's dishes, she told herself. Yeah, Sherlock, that wouldn't be obvious at all.

Jacque headed back up to her room, wracking her brain for things she could do to keep her mind off you-know-who, at least until Sally and Jen were back. When she shut her bedroom door, her hand brushed up against thebathing suit she had hanging on the doorknob. "Okay, sun tanning it is," she said to herself.

Jacque grabbed the bathing suit and went to the bathroom to change. She ran a hand down her legs and decided they were smooth enough for just laying on a towel in the backyard. She looked in the mirror at herself, pleased enough, she supposed. She was a little on the short side at five foot one and a half inches, slender and muscular from playing on the girls' tennis team. She wasn't Beth from Dog the Bounty Hunter in the chest department, as Jen had so nicely pointed out, but she wasn't Grace of Will and Grace either. She figured a C cup wasn't anything to complain about. Her hair was her favorite thing about herself: auburn, curly, and wild. Most of the time she didn't attempt to tame it, but for sun bathing she decided to put it up in a ponytail.

The bathing suit was a bikini that she'd let Sally and Jen talk her into. Though, she did get her two cents in by buying a mismatched bottom and top. She figured if she liked two different bathing suits, why not buy half of each? With that reasoning it's no wonder I'm hearing voices, she told herself.

Overall, Jacque thought, I don't look too shabby. She slipped on her pink flip flops, grabbed her cell, iPod, towel, and sunglasses, and was out the back door.

Her backyard was very simple, just a square, and it didn't even have a fence. They didn't have a dog, or little kids to corral in, so when her mom had bought the house she'd never bothered to have one built. There was a single tree growing smack dab in the middle of the backyard, so depending on the time of day Jacque either had to lie on the left or right side of the backyard.

The right side it is.

Jacque took her towel and laid it on the grass. She'd already put her ear phones in and set her iPod to shuffle – Pearl Jam was the band playing at the moment. She slid her sunglasses on and turned to sit down on her towel. It was then that she realized in choosing the right side of the backyard, she was directly in front of the Henrys' house. Wait folks, it gets even better. It's the side of the house where Fane's bedroom window is.

Bad, Jacque thought. This is very, very bad. I can get up and go lay on the left side of the back yard…in the shade…which makes no sense. Or I can lay here and look like I totally planned to put a bikini on and plaster myself in front of Fane's window like a centerfold. For the love of pigtails, could someone throw me a bone? Jacque's mind screamed.

She sat there debating for a minute or two, then threw her hands up and said, "To hell with it, I'm already down here. He can get an eyeful if he wants, and if he wants to know if I did it for his benefit he can just ask me." With a decided humph, Jacque laid back on the towel, arms by her side, feet flat on the ground, and knees slightly bent.

As she closed her eyes, she began to feel the warmth of the sun seep into her skin and calm her. She took some deep breaths and focused on the lyrics to the song now playing in her ears. It was "Untouchable" by Taylor Swift. She'd heard it a couple times before but had never really listened to it. Now as she heard the words, something inside her awoke.

Untouchable like a distant diamond sky

I'm reaching out and I just can't tell you why

I'm caught up in you, I'm caught up in you

Untouchable, burning brighter than the sun

And when you're close, I feel like coming undone

In the middle of the night when I'm in this dream

It's like a million little stars spelling out your name

You gotta come on, come on, say that we'll be together

Come on, come on, little taste of heaven

It's half full and I won't wait here all day

I know you're saying that you'd be here anyway

But you're untouchable, burning brighter than the sun

Now that you're close, I feel like coming undone

Jacque didn't really understand how she knew it, but she believed without a doubt that her future was with Fane. She wasn't sure how or why, or when, and at that moment he seemed very untouchable – she sure as hell was coming undone.

The song stopped and her phone started vibrating. For a moment she was a little disoriented, then she realized she was getting a phone call. She looked at the screen on her phone and it was Jen.

"Hello?"

"Got good news, got bad news. Won't charge you for either so which do you want first?" Jen answered.

"Slap me first, pat me on the back last," Jacque told her.

"Bad news it is. I won't be back over to your house until nine at the earliest. My mom and dad are in one of their 'we're a family, we need to eat at the table together, blah blah blah' moods. So naturally, being the sweet little thing that I am, I didn't argue with them for twenty minutes or slam my door and tell them how 1950s they were being. Nope, not me. I smiled sweetly."

"Jen, you don't do anything sweetly. How did you manage a smile?" Jacque retorted.

"Oh, shut up. That was the slap. The pat is I get to come over, even after the little fit that I didn't throw," she said with smug satisfaction.

"Try to keep your mouth shut between now and then so that you don't have to call me later with something worse than a slap, okay?" Jacque told her.

"Okay, okay. Geez, who spit in your pizza?"

"I'll give you the full details tonight, but suffice to say at least one piece has made its way into the puzzle." Jacque thought about her words for a moment, then remembered a question Fane had asked her when he was "talking" to her. He had asked where she got her odd way of speaking. Did she speak oddly?

"Jen, do you think I speak oddly?" Jacque asked.

There was silence for a moment at the other end of the line. Jacque assumed either Jen was thinking or she had found something more interesting to pay attention to. Jacque was just about to ask again when Jen answered, "You do realize who you're asking, right? 'Cause I just asked you who spit in your pizza and you knew exactly what I meant. So, I'm just saying I might not be the best judge of any oddities you may possess."

"True dat," Jacque responded.

"I'll see you tonight. Try not to do anything too crazy without me. You know how I like to watch," Jen said, cackling as she hung up.

Jacque shook her head, laughing to herself about her friend's sick, twisted sense of humor. She didn't bother to turn her music back on, she just listened to the sounds around her. For the most part the only noises were the occasional bird or dog bark. Other than that it was a quiet summer day. As beads of sweat ran down her collar bones she thought, Let's qualify that. It's a quiet, hot, summer day.

Jacque rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes, letting the heat and the sounds run over her. Before she realized it she had fallen asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Fane looked at his watch. It was half past noon. Sara had been gone an hour and he still hadn't heard Brian at all. There was an eight hour time difference between Coldspring and Romania, so it was eight thirty in the evening where his family was. He decided to call his dad while Brian and Sara were out. He had some questions that he thought should be answered before he had to start explaining things to Jacquelyn.

He dialed his father's cell phone number and listened to it ring.

"Da?" his father answered. This was the way he always answered, with a simple "yes." No "hello" or "this is", just yes. Something so small, but it made him homesick.

"Tată," Fane answered.

"Fane? Cum te simţi?" his father asked him.

"English please, father, I'm trying to get in a better habit of not switching back and forth in conversation. I am good. How is mamă? How is the Pack?" Fane asked.

"Your mother is good, other than missing her pup. The Pack is good," his father responded.

Fane asked about the Pack for two reasons. The first was that he was to be Alpha one day and his father had been teaching him for as long as he could remember that the other wolves in the Pack were like his children. He was to love them, protect them, and care for them. Sometimes that meant feeding them, other times it meant disciplining them. So as Prince and future Alpha he knew it was his duty to make sure the Pack was well.

The second reason was because there were a lot of un-mated males in the Pack, and un-mated males were restless, aggressive, and for lack of a better term, stupid. It really was true that behind every great man was an even greater woman – it stood true for wolves as well. Until a male wolf was mated, his emotions were volatile; he tended to be restless, and prone to wandering. All could lead to territorial battles and, needless to say, it could get messy. Once a male wolf bonded with his mate, all of those aggressive tendencies were balanced out by the gentle nature of his mate. It was not really known how it worked, but from what some males had said, it was like the better half of their soul was given back to them and they felt whole.

Fane had make sure his father didn't need him home if things were getting out of hand with the Pack.

"I need to ask you some questions about the mate bond," Fane told his father. "Does the mate have to be a Canis lupus or can she be human? What does it mean when you suddenly have more markings on you than before? What if your mate doesn't know anything about your world and won't accept you?" Fane was sounding a little frantic by the time he stopped talking.

"You're seventeen, you've been in America for less than twenty four hours, and you think you've found your mate?" his father asked him.

Fane heard his mother gasp in the background and begin speaking quickly in their native tongue. "Calm down, love. Let me find out," he heard his father tell her.

"I know how it sounds, Tată," Fane told his father. "But I don't know what else it could be."

"Why don't you start from the beginning and then we will try to figure out if this is indeed your mate," his father suggested.

So Fane told him about how he had heard her thoughts the night he'd arrived. He told him about being able to "feel" how she felt and that her scent had nearly caused him to curl up at her feet and pant like a stupid pup. He told him that she'd spoken to his mind as well and figured out that Fane was indeed who she was hearing.

After Fane finished there was silence from the other end of the phone. For a second he thought they might have been disconnected, but then his father broke the silence.

"A mate cannot be fully human; there has to be Canis lupus blood somewhere in her line. It can be generations back, but it has to be there in order for her life to be bound to yours. You know how long we live, and when you bind her to you she will take on your longevity as long as she has Lupi in her blood." His father paused, thencontinued. "As for the markings, I hadn't discussed this with you yet because I didn't think you would find your matebefore you graduated from high school. It's very, very rare. I was over a century old before I found your mother. The markings of a male Canis lupus only change when he finds a mate – it is a way to tell all Canis lupus you have a mate."

"Don't you have to do the blood rites before you can be mate bonded? I mean, the markings changed after seeing her through a window!" Fane stated incredulously.

"Aranjare (settle)," Fane's father told him. "This is something to rejoice over, not fret. We will figure out the details later. You have a year to woo her and help her understand our world before you come back to Romania."

Fane was breathing a little easier. It was true that there was no rush for him to bond with her. Especially since she was right across the street where he could see her and know she was safe. His wolf wasn't totally pleased with the idea of leaving his mate un-bonded, but he would wait and watch. Wolves were very patient hunters.

Fane was brought out of his thoughts when his father asked, "Did you happen to notice any marks on heranywhere?"

"Marks on her like the marks I have?" Fane asked.

"Well, you might not have because the female Canis lupus marks are more of a private thing. I don't mean they areanywhere that couldn't be seen if she had on a bathing suit, I mean private as in they are for her mate. The markings will match yours like a puzzle piece, but might not be in the same location and usually cannot be seen by others if she has regular clothes on," his father continued.

Fane felt a low growl in his throat as he realized his dislike at the idea of another male seeing Jacquelyn's markings. Even if they were on her arm or leg, they were meant for him only.

"Fane? Fane, are you alright?" he heard his father ask him.

"I'm just a little…I don't know what, I mean I'm seventeen, and the thought of another wolf seeing markings on a girl I barely know infuriates me. I'm not even out of high school," Fane said with frustration and confusion.

"I know you are only seventeen, fiu (son), but you have to remember that when your wolf finds its mate he is no longer a juvenile – he becomes a full-fledged adult overnight. Your wolf expects you to step up and be ready to be the Alpha. You are meant to be because you are to protect her at all costs. Yes, you are only seventeen, but you are not a mere human, you are Canis lupus, you are Prince to your Pack, and you are Alpha," Fane's father told him.

Fane took some deep breaths to calm and compose himself. It wasn't like him to get so upset over something he couldn't change. His emotions seemed a little on edge today and he could only imagine it had everything to do with the sassy red head across the street.

"One more thing. I know that mates cannot usually go long periods without sharing their thoughts or being near one another without feeling discomfort from the separation. I haven't had that since I discovered Jacquelyn. Why would that be?" Fane asked his father.

"You won't begin to feel some effects of being mated until after the bond is completed through the blood rites. Until then neither one of you should have any problem being apart."

"I wouldn't say that," Fane mumbled.

Fane's dad continued, saying, "There is a reason this has happened to you so young. She is part human, which means she can't phase and she is weaker for that. Maybe she will need your protection in some way. Keep your eyes and ears open. Nothing happens by chance, there is purpose in everything."

"But there are no Canis lupus in this area. What could possibly be a threat to her in this little, insignificant town?" Fane asked.

"Lesser words have preceded many a war, Fane," his fathered answered ominously. "All will be well, fiu. Get to know her, be her friend. Keep your wolf in check and call me and keep me updated. Te iubesc (I love you), Fiul meu (my son)." And with that Fane's father and Alpha hung up.

Fane sat there for awhile longer, going over in his head the things his father had told him. Jacquelyn had to haveCanis lupus in her bloodline somewhere, and it was either very distant or a relative she did not know.

He heard the door open downstairs and caught Brian's scent. He decided he needed to get some fresh air, preferably behind the handlebars of a motorcycle, and went downstairs in search of Brian. Maybe he would take him to a dealership to look at some used motorcycles.

Fane found Brian whistling an unknown tune in the kitchen while pouring himself some of the sweet tea.

"Hope you like sugar better than tea, because that's about all you're going to drink when you take a sip of that," Fane told him with a smile.

Brian chuckled. "Yeah that's how we do it in the south. It's not really sweet tea, its tea flavored sugar."

Fane laughed with him.

"I have a favor to ask, if you have time," Fane started.

"Shoot."

"My parents have given me money to buy a motorcycle but I need a ride to a dealership to look at some. Would you mind taking me to look at some bikes?" Fane asked.

Already nodding his head yes as he took a drink, Brian said, "Yeah, that's not a problem. If you're ready, I don't have anything pressing. We can go now."

"Ok, let me grab my phone. Give me just a sec," Fane said as he headed toward the stairs.

When Fane got to his room, he picked up his phone and checked to make sure his wallet was in his back pocket. Then, just out of curiosity, he opened the curtains to glance out at Jacquelyn's house.

Fane had to blink several times to get his brain to understand what it was seeing, and then he had to take slow, deep breaths to keep his wolf from growling possessively. For there, across the street to the right side of her yard, which, if she had a fence would be the backyard, was his Luna laying out in a skimpy bathing suit. That wasn't the half of it. She was laying on her stomach and there at the top of her back, stretching out from shoulder to shoulder and up her neck to just below her hairline, were the markings that would fit his perfectly. Her markings were there on display for any male to see, not to mention her mom, if she came out. Without thinking, his mind reached for hers.

"You do realize that they only sold you ¼ of that bathing suit don't you?" Fane said, trying to sound casual and not like the jealous monster he felt to be.

At first he didn't get a response. As he was looking at her, he realized she must have fallen asleep, which was not a good thing because in this heat she'd burn terribly.

Fane focused on her and using an Alpha push, spoke, "Jacquelyn, wake up!"

Still, she did not move or respond. Fane was deciding whether or not to walk across the street and disturb her when she finally spoke to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jacquelyn heard Fane ask her if she had inadvertently bought only a ¼ of a bathing suit. So he's a funny guy, she thought. Two can play at that game. She'd been asleep up until that point, but as soon as he spoke to her she had woken up. For now, she continued to lie perfectly still, knowing he must be watching her. She didn't want him to know she had heard him. The second time he spoke to her she felt a push that made her want to obey him. He soooooo did not just give me command, she thought indignantly. She was surprised when he didn't respond to that thought. What Jacque didn't know was that she was blocking him because she didn't want him to be able to hear her.

It was a minute before she finally answered.

"I know it, right? And it still covers too much to give me a good tan with as few lines as possible," she retorted with a smirk.

Jacque heard him growl at her. Was he actually jealous? If so, jealous of what exactly? He didn't know her from Adam.

"I have told you before, you are my Luna," she heard him answer her thought. She realized then that she hadn't been trying to block her mind from his.

"And I'm telling you now I don't know what that means, and I'm not your anything!" she growled back.

"If nothing else could you at least be mindful of the fact that you are going to burn if you lay out in practically nothing and fall asleep." Fane sounded very annoyed.

What did he mean if nothing else? Was he implying that she was trying to lie out and show off her body to just any passerby? Jacque sat up and glared up at Fane's window, and sure enough, he was standing there staring at her. Frustrated with herself for allowing his disapproval to actually bother her, she stood up and with as much sarcasm as possible, curtsied to him, then picked up her things and marched back into the house.

"Meu inimă, did you just curtsy to me?" Fane asked in astonishment and amusement.

"Well, seeing as how you seem to think you deserve something from me, I thought I would indulge you just a little, but I assure you my intentions were completely rude!" Jacque responded.

Jacque heard him chuckle at her sass.

As Jacque walked into the house, she set her things on the couch and went to the kitchen to get a drink. She hadn't realized just how hot she had gotten while lying out in the sun, which didn't make her happy because it only confirmed what Fane had said. "I mean seriously, who is he, the bathing suit police?"

"No, micul incendiu (little fire). I am simply trying to look out for you. Who knows what wolves lie in wait to pounce on unsuspecting sun-bathing beauties?" Fane said knowingly.

"And just what is that suppose to mean? Do you always talk so vaguely?" she asked in exasperation.

Just then she realized that their whole conversation had been thoughts back and forth to one another. Man, had her life gotten weird…no, actually it wasn't just weird, it was bordering on bizarre.

"Don't you have something you need to be doing?" she asked him as she went upstairs to take a shower. She realized that even though all she had done was lay outside, she smelled like the outdoors and sweat.

"Actually, yes. I am going with Brian to look at motorcycles. My parents have given me the money to purchase one so I will be able to get around on my own," Fane told her.

"Why not a car? And what if it rains, won't you get soaked?" Jacque asked.

"It's cold most of the time in Romania. Why would I want to be cooped up in a car when I could be on a motorcycle with the sun on my face? And they make rain gear," Fane explained.

"Oh. Well, I guess if you lived somewhere cold all the time, it would be nice to ride out in the sunshine," she answered.

Jacque began gathering clothes to take to the bathroom. As she walked into the bathroom and closed the door she discovered she was reluctant to undress while they were talking through their thoughts. Somehow that felt way too intimate. As if sensing her discomfort, Fane asked her, "Is something wrong? Did I do something to upset you…besides imply your bathing suit was a bit skimpy?" Fane asked with little remorse.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just, um, got things to do is all. People and places, you know how it is," she said awkwardly.

"Jacquelyn, why are you acting so strangely?" Fane asked.

Jacque rolled her eyes. Could he just leave it alone? If she had to spell it out for him she was going to be mortified. She could just hear herself explaining how she was sweaty from the sun and needed a shower and the thought of talking to him through their thoughts while she was butt freaking naked was just a tad beyond her comfort zone.

Fane must have caught her passing thoughts. Man, she really needed to learn how to block him out somehow.

"I will leave you alone since you have things to take care of. Just so you know, I may be a teenage guy, with teenage hormones, but I assure you I am not dishonorable, nor would I abuse our thought connection," he said with firm conviction.

"I know you can hear my thoughts, but can you like, 'see' through my eyes?" she asked apprehensively.

"No, but I can see the things you think. Just as you can see what I think if you want. When your emotions are strong I feel you and hear your thoughts very loudly, even when you aren't trying to communicate with me. You might want to bear that in mind," Fane told her.

"How do I keep you out of my mind?" Jacque asked.

"All you have to do is imagine a wall in your mind between mine and yours. I will not be able to get past it. The same goes for me if I don't want you to hear my thoughts."

Jacque was surprised to find herself a little hurt at the idea of him not wanting her to hear his thoughts, but then she thought how absurd that was because everyone needed privacy.

"Okay, I'll keep all that in mind. And since we are in mind reading 101, could you answer me this? Who else can you do this with?" Jacque asked, not realizing how jealous she sounded.

"No one, meu inimă, only you. You will not be able to do this with anyone else as well," Fane stated possessively.

"Talk to you later, be safe," Fane told her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

And just like that she "felt" him leave her, and fell instantly bereft. She undressed and, without looking into the mirror, got into the steamy hot shower, letting it wash the feeling away. It was silly to feel so empty without him in her mind, she knew that, and yet she couldn't shake it off. It just seemed so natural to talk to him, like she had done it all her life. She found it so odd that she was jealous at idea of him talking to another girl through her thoughts. She had only known him a day, after all, but the thought irked her to no measure. Ok, Jacque, she told herself, move on to another topic. She hadn't heard from Sally and figured she'd better call her to make sure she was still going to be able to come over.

She got out of the shower and toweled dry, flipping her hair over and drying it first, then standing upright to dry her body. Turning to look into the mirror, she froze. Then, without realizing she had done it, she reached for Fane's mind. "Fane, what the hell is on my back!"

No answer.

Slowly calming down, she began to examine the design that looked like a tattoo. The thing ran from shoulder to shoulder and up her neck. It was scrolled lines arching and curving, coming to a point at the nape of her neck, with definite places that appeared would fit into a puzzle. It was very beautiful and feminine – it was also very not there before she tanned. Had Fane done some Romanian voodoo on her? 'Cause she would so do some voodoo up on his ass if he had.

He still hadn't responded to her after a few minutes, so Jacque got dressed and combed out her wet hair and put mousse in it. She went back to her room, still trying to think about how the marks could have appeared on her back when her phone rang. For a fleeting moment she hoped it was Fane, but that would be ridiculous when he could just talk through his thoughts. Shaking her head in frustration, she answered the phone.

"So I'm thinking bikini, towel, tunes, and catching rays. You in?" Sally's cheerful voice came through the phone.

"You're a little late, Charlie Brown. I've already cooked, rotated, and cooked some more. I just got out of the shower. So I assume you are going to be able to come over soon?" Jacque asked, relief in her voice.

"That's the rumor. You free?" Sally asked.

"Free, crazy, completely deranged…take your pick." Jacque answered.

"I'm on my way over now, be there in five." Sally hung up.

Jacque looked around her room and decided to pick up from the impromptu sleepover. She folded the blankets and laid them on the bed. No sense in putting them away since the girls were staying the night again. She picked up the dirty clothes on the floor and threw them in the laundry basket. Her mind was restless and she decided to write her thoughts out. Sometimes writing down what was floating around upstairs helped her put things in perspective.

She got out a notepad from school and opened to a blank page, grabbed a pen off her desk, and sat down on her bed and began to write.

I've met a guy. Not just any guy but a really unusual one. He's from Romania. He is beautiful, and he can talk to me through my thoughts, and I can talk back. It's so unreal. To top it all off, I have these strange markings on my back that came out of nowhere. I don't know what to even begin to think about the whole thing. But I know for the sake of my waning sanity I need to talk to him face to face and see if he will answer any of my questions. My other problem is I seem to be…

Jacque's phone beeped. She had a text message:

Sally: star bcks, frap moca?

Jacque: def.

Grateful that her friend could recognize a much needed caffeine binge when it was called for, Jacque turned back to her writing.

…jealous over a guy I barely know. I feel like we are somehow connected, like we've known one another our whole lives. I also feel like my mom knows something. She's been acting a little weird, or maybe I should say she's been feeling weird since I can feel her emotions. Funny, I haven't felt Fane's emotions when I've been around him – which has only been one time – and I haven't felt them when we've been "talking" either. I don't know if it can possibly get any stranger, but I'm thinking that it likely will….


End file.
